Illumination: A Novel

by Nthikeng Mohlele

Bantubonke is an accomplished and revered jazz trumpeter, composer and band leader in decline – an absent present and inadequate spouse. He lives for art at the expense of all else, an imbalance that derails his life and propels him to the brink of madness and despair. A story of direct and implied betrayals, Illumination is an unrelenting study of possession and loss, of the beauty and uncertainty of love, of the dangers and intrusions of fame.

181 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 1, 2019

About the author

Nthikeng Mohlele was partly raised in Limpopo and Tembisa Township, and attended the University of the Witwatersrand, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Art, Publishing Studies and African Literature. He is the author of four critically acclaimed novels: The Scent of Bliss (2008), Small Things (2013), Rusty Bell (2014) and Pleasure (2016). Pleasure won the 2016 University of Johannesburg Main Prize for South African Writing in English as well as the 2017 K. Sello Duiker Memorial Prize at the South African Literary Awards. It has also been longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Michael K is Mohlele’s fifth novel.

Reviews

[Sreddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his latest offering, Illumination, Nthikeng Mohlele once again takes up a flawed, angsty, old-enough male protagonist to reflect on the place of art and aesthetics – more specifically in this work, music – in our lives as well as the big (and not-so-big) existential questions: what does it mean to desire, to feel, to betray, not only the people around you but also yourself and your own ideals?

At the heart of Illumination is a meditation on relationality and intimacy. Mohlele explores the ways that we instantiate and police the various ways that we form and maintain relationships with others. Friend, husband, celebrity, citizen of a nation. What are the uses and expectations that come with naming these relations with others in this way? Most interesting for me, though, is Mohlele’s contribution to my own (academic) exploration of the notions of impersonality and universality as articulated by the likes of Leo Bersani and Mari Ruti.

What I also appreciate about Illumination is Mohlele’s articulation of the political. Still all too often in what’s been branded contemporary “South African literature”, the political is given the resolutely identitarian treatment that lacks a careful thinking through of the nuances of such spectacular essentialisms. Mohlele here seems wary of such an approach, and subtly weaves the consequences of South Africa’s atrocious past into a attentive appraisal of the state of the nation today. Not giving too much away here, ‘cause otherwise spoiler alert!

Did I also mention that Mohlele once again captures the pulses and discrepancies of the metropolis that is Johannesburg with such consummate virtuosity? If you’re looking for a plot-and-character novel, rather pick up something else, but if you’re looking for a dazzling novel of ideas, you'll really appreciate Mohlele's Illumination.

[Penny de Vries · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not too sure what to think. This novel has Nthikeng Mohlele’s familiar treatment of language as an instrument to tease out meaning, using phrases strung together in such a way that the familiar is rendered strange, and the strange familiar. His protagonist is a musician who conflates fame and greatness, who agonises over his artistic talent and mourns its disfigurement; this having been occasioned by the disfigurement of his own lips in an accident. And possibly age.
He is a patriarchal man who idealises or despises women, their physical appeal is paramount. His wife is muse or whore. The reader never meets her in the flesh. Part of me wonders if she even exists.
Underlying this man’s egotistical introspection is trauma. Planted in his subconscious but floating into awareness. Especially as he and his former torturer during apartheid now attend the same church. Life seems to have rendered him helpless as he is no longer capable of agency.
While my sympathies are not entirely with this protagonist, he is real, complex and a acts as a channel for the reader to explore music, love and loss.

[Siyamthanda Skota · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nthikeng is a brilliant writer. But I could not deal with a 200 page first person narration from a narcissistic and pretentious male protagonist. I hated the main character.

[M. R Phora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bantubonke, the protagonist, was crafted by the love of his music and art. He succumbed to his depression when his artist powess seemed to lessen. His life after fame, to me, needed a serious psycholigical attention. His love for his dying art somehow pulled him away from people, giving him some psychopathic attributes. He lived in denial of problems around him and sought peace in 'listening room'- a room where he listened to music and used as some kind of an Asylum from the world and his problems.

The book was a slow read for me, too slow for a 222 pages book. The story line was rather unfolding too slow. At least half of it must have focused on the nature of art, music and the protagonist's emotional and psycological state (I enjoyed the use of words).

I'm just in love with Nthikeng's writing skills. I'm much motivated to visit his previous literary works. Let alone this is one of the beauteous book covers I've ever seen.

[Fatima Moosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly beautiful and disturbing piece of literature. The main character is such a complicated being. The theme of the soul was particularly compelling. Read my full review here: http://www.thedailyvox.co.za/the-madn...

[Alex Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, poignant book that serves as a meditation on friendship, love, art and the complexities of contemporary South Africa. Illumination is beautifully written, thoughtful and nuanced. I highly recommend it!